Getting over the hump: Cubs now believe they can beat Cardinals

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The Cubs have already proved to the rest of the baseball world that they're legitimate contenders.

Now they've proved it to the Cardinals, as well.

The Cubs couldn't complete the sweep against St. Louis Sunday afternoon at Wrigley, but the 4-3 loss doesn't change the fact that they now have the belief they can stand toe-to-toe with - and beat - the best team in baseball.

"I could not be more proud of our guys," Cubs manager Joe Maddon said. "It's obvious that we're playing on the same level as they are right now. I'm really proud of our guys for that.

"How far we've come in one season to get to this particular game today. Give them credit. They are very good, also.

"But I think now, we know we can beat them and they know we can beat them, too. And that's a good thing."

Before the Cubs went down to St. Louis for a three-game series with the Cardinals earlier this month, Maddon preached the importance of beating the NL Central leaders on their home field and closing out games when they have the lead.

Now, after the three-game series at Wrigley Field, the Cubs have proved their worth by winning four of the six games against the Cardinals and coming up just short on the two losses.

"We're up. Gotta look at the positives," Jon Lester said. "Obviously we would have liked to win all six games - we had an opportunity to. But at the end of the day, that's a good team across the way and they don't give outs up.

"We're playing good baseball the last six games against them. Maybe proving to ourselves a little bit that we can compete with these guys and can even beat 'em."

The Cardinals took a page out of the Cubs' book and jumped all over Lester in the first inning of Sunday's game, scoring three runs on a pair of homers from rookies Tommy Pham and Stephen Piscotty.

St. Louis right fielder Jason Heyward erased a Cubs threat in the eighth when he gunned down Anthony Rizzo at the plate on Addison Russell's fly ball. In the ninth, the Cardinals halted another Cubs rally when pinch-runner Quintin Berry was thrown out trying to steal second base, his first caught-stealing of his major-league career (he had been 25-for-25 prior to Sunday).

Any illusions the Cubs had about winning the division were essentially dashed with Sunday's loss. Instead of being four games back with a sweep, the Cubs are now six games behind the Cardinals with only 13 left to play.

Cubs Talk Podcast: Giving Thanks to the Cubs

Latest Cubs Talk

In this Thanksgiving-themed episode of the Cubs Talk Podcast, Luke Stuckmeyer, David Kaplan, and Tony Andracki discuss what they're most thankful for relating to the Cubs (1:00), with responses ranging from the upgrades at Wrigley Field to the hiring of Theo Epstein and Joe Maddon.

Then, in a nod to Black Friday, our panel debates the best deals the Cubs have ever made (7:10), including trades for Sammy Sosa, Ryne Sandberg, Jake Arrieta and more. Plus, Kap tells us how Harry Caray came to be the Cubs announcer after many years with the White Sox (15:00).

Listen to the full episode at this link or in the embedded player below:

Wick, who turned 26 less than two weeks ago, got a call-up late in 2018 with the Padres. He made his MLB debut on Aug. 31 and totaled 10 appearances out of the bullpen. He had a 6.48 ERA in 8 1/3 innings with seven strikeouts and just one walk. The improved control was a good sign after Wick walked 31 batters in 54 innings between Double-A and Triple-A earlier in the season, but he gave up 13 hits in the majors.

Going the other way, Vosler is a 25-year-old infielder who had been in the Cubs organization since getting drafted in 2014. He worked his way up to Triple-A this past season. Vosler hit .263/.306/.458 for the Iowa Cubs in 63 games.

The Cubs also added left-handed pitcher Justin Steele to the 40-man roster. Steele was a fifth-round pick of the Cubs out of high school in 2014 and came from injury in 2018. He made 11 starts between rookie ball, Single-A and Double-A before recently pitching in the Arizona Fall League.

Clarkin, Steele and Wick join the 40-man roster for the Cubs, which now stands at 39.

In addition to Vosler exiting, the Rangers claimed Jack Reinheimer off waivers from the Cubs. The Cubs had claimed Reinheimer off waivers from the Mets on Nov. 2. Outfielder Johnny Field and left-handed pitcher Jerry Vasto, both of which were claimed off waivers since the 2018 season ended, both cleared waivers and been assigned outright to Triple-A Iowa.

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